The definition of a good citizen has evolved over the years. No longer does this only entail treating others with respect and making positive contributions to our society, it now involves being connected with the world around you. Turning Students into Good Digital Citizens discusses how the definition of a good citizen has changed over the years. It pushes the discussion past basic skills and challenges digital citizens to not only be prepared to enter the world and receive information, but to be able to actively go out and capture knowledge.  Teachers and schools play a vital role in preparing these digital citizens.

Turning Students into Good Digital Citizens is an article featured on Global Digital Citizen Foundation which is a non profit organization dedicated to cultivating responsible, ethical, global citizens for a digital world. In video clips featured in the article, Michael Wesch answers three very important questions: (1) What is a mediated world? (2) Describe the difference between being knowledgeable and knowledge-able. (3) How effectively is digital citizenship being taught in K-12 and higher education? 

Wesch mentions this quote in one of his videos, "Students enter school as a question mark, and they leave as a period." This was the most profound piece of information that I took away from all of my research and will be something that I want to have in the forefront of my mind as an administrator. Too often, we are allowing students to ask questions and we are providing them with all of the answers. But, like it states in Global Digital Citizen Foundation's article and Wesch's interview, we need to prepare students with the day-to-day skill sets of digital citizens and allow them to go out into the world with these questions.

Wesch critiques K-12 education by stating that we are not there yet. We have not fully immersed our students by aligning curriculum to prepare students to be digital natives, but he agrees there are certainly people that are doing it each day. My goal as a future administrator is to embrace the many opportunities that I will have to provide my teachers with the skill sets they need to prepare their students for the future, and part of a successful future for these students is the ability to be a digital citizen. Before my role as an administer begins, I want to continue my research on the best possible ways to have students connected with the world around them. True digital citizens are able to connect locally and with their geographic reality. I want to do my best to research the best possible ways to provide these opportunities for my future teachers and students.

‪Michael Wesch on Digital Citizenship Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQWBqbjEB-0&list=PLA3FB753E843A762D&index=3

‪GDC Team. 

‪Turning students into good digital citizens Retrieved from https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/turning-students-into-good-digital-citizens